


Truth or dare

by MorgauseNokami



Category: Labyrinth (1986)
Genre: F/M, Seduction, crackish, games on Sarah's turf, or at least the attempt thereof, whatareyoudoingSarah
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-24
Updated: 2018-05-11
Packaged: 2019-01-22 13:31:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,201
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12482736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MorgauseNokami/pseuds/MorgauseNokami
Summary: This is an exceptionally bad idea. Probably. But Sarah can't seem to forget the Goblin King, and she resolves to seduce him the only way she can think of: with a game.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> 30-12-2017: Just a quick note to let you all know that my laptop went and died on me :( It'll be a while before I can either get it back up and running or buy a new one and get back into writing. Sorry for the wait, I hope you understand!

Sarah stood in front of the mirror and seriously doubted her plan.  
To bide her time, she leaned forward to study the freckles on her nose. She made a face and breathed in deeply, willing the color on her cheeks to disappear. 

This was an exceptionally bad idea.  
Probably.

But it had been thirteen years to the day, and try as she might, she had not been able to forget his words. Or his pants. Or the look in his eyes. She wasn’t sure which of those three had made the biggest impression on her, but considering her age, it was probably the pants.  
Though maybe, just maybe, it had been the look.

During those years she had got her first boyfriend, graduated, gone to college, got her first serious boyfriend, and her second, graduated college, found her first job, her second and her third, all the while keeping in touch with her friends from the Labyrinth – and managing to keep those particular relationships (and the tendency of things to become misplaced in her vicinity) a secret from the people around her. But she had never been back to the Labyrinth, and she had never seen him again. 

Despite that fact, she couldn’t help thinking of him on a regular basis. What she could help was the starring role he played in many of her more interesting dreams and at least half of her fantasies. Fortunately, she felt not the least bit guilty of what her active imagination conjured up, and relished in finding out precisely what sorts of magic he was capable of, if only in her daydreams. 

When she realized that she was thinking of leather gloves and mismatched eyes even when sleeping with her latest boyfriend, she decided that enough was enough. She dumped the boyfriend (not a keeper anyway) and started to think up a plan to seduce the Goblin King. 

That wasn’t easy in the least. Because aside the fact that he was a trickster fairytale king and thus pretty much impossible to outsmart, she simply didn’t know whether or not he even found her attractive. The way he had looked at her, the offers he had made her… had he meant it, or had his behavior simply been a ploy to keep her from getting to the castle in time? He was a powerful, handsome fae after all, who might not be the least bit tempted by human girls - what with their tendency to wither and die in the blink of an eye. 

She couldn’t outright seduce him, that much was obvious. Or well, maybe she could, but the uncertainty was enough to put her off that idea. No, she had decided, what she needed was to spend time with him, to find out if she even stood a chance, to figure out how she should go about the whole seducing a fae thing. 

Getting him to spend time with her, that should be doable. Jareth might be a trickster king, but she was the one who bested his Labyrinth, and she was certain she could trick him into playing another game with her. Especially if her goal wasn’t winning.

So yes, she had a plan. It just happened to be, in all likelihood, an exceptionally bad plan.

She breathed in deeply again, and stared her reflection down. “I wish the Goblin King was here, right now.”


	2. Chapter 2

Nothing happened.  
Sarah narrowed her eyes at her reflection. She wasn’t sure what she had expected, but in most of her daydreams, it had involved a flash of thunder and billowing curtains, possibly a barn owl, and definitely a generous dusting of glitter. She hadn’t expected nothing to happen. Nothing never happened to her, whether she wanted it to or not. From saving kittens and baby ducks to dramatic love triangles to getting robbed in the mall to fantasy adventures to starring in her second favorite play to sock stealing goblin visitors - she was the girl to whom things happened. She had been, ever since those particular ten hours. She wasn’t sure if it was a gift or a curse, but at least her life was never boring. 

Well, up until the last fifteen minutes, that is. She scowled at herself and tried again. “I wish the Goblin King would come and talk to me, right now.”

Nothing.  
For a moment, she thought she heard the chattering of goblins from under her bed, but when she twirled around, they weren’t there. She turned back to the mirror, still glaring, and put her hand on the glass. Say your right words. “Jareth, I need you.” 

It might be the most embarrassing thing she had ever said out loud. Well, after saying “Yes!” when the most popular boy of the class asked her “Do you want to go out with me?” in sixth grade, after which he replied: “Well, I don’t!” and his whole group of friends barked with laughter. That was worse, but only because there was no sign of Jareth or his friends right now (if he had any). Apparently even the sacrifice of her dignity was not enough to make said Goblin King appear. 

She shot her reflection a last withering glare and walked to her bed, to drop down and sulk properly. 

***

When Sarah woke up the next morning, she was still a bit peeved. Glancing at her mirror, she considered contacting her friends instead, but eventually decided against it. Hoggle still didn’t really like his monarch and he was definitely not going to check up on the frightful king for her. Sir Didymus was loyal as always, he just didn’t know whether to be loyal to Jareth or to her. And Ludo was kind, strong, and the worst spy in the world. Plus, all three of them would want to know why she was suddenly so interested in their king, which was a question she really didn’t want to answer. Talking to them about sex was about as bad as discussing the subject with her parents. Talking to them about potential sex with the Goblin King was akin to.. to… she couldn’t even think of an example that was taboo enough. They would valiantly defend her against his advances, not help her with hers. 

No, contacting her friends was not going to be useful in this particular tight spot. She scrunched her nose, sighed and got up. Unto other things. She had purposely left her weekend unplanned – which, in retrospect, might have been a little bit hopeful on her part. Maybe she should visit her parents today, spend some time with her little brother, take him out to a ball game or something. Bring the puppy that Karen got them after Merlin had died. 

Cheered by the prospect, she jumped out of bed and wriggled out of the pajama pants she was wearing, simultaneously trying to tie her hair back with a rubber band from her nightstand. The whole thing didn’t end up particularly well; with an annoyed huff she kicked the pants off, threw them in the general direction of the bed, and then set to untying the rubber band from the tangles of her dark hair, muttering various threats to it that included terms like “chopping” and “shaving”. 

“One might assume you need my help undressing,” a dry but sensuous voice remarked behind her. 

Sarah couldn’t help an undignified squawk escaping her mouth, though honestly, what else had she expected? Of course he had heard that pathetic attempt at an invitation. And of course he had waited to come until she was at her most vulnerable. At least he hadn’t brought any friends.  
…she hoped he hadn’t brought any friends. 

Steeling her gaze, she slowly breathed in and turned around, not bothering to cover her skimpy tanktop and more-comfortable-than-sexy-panties up. The Goblin King was standing in her doorway, leaning against the frame with his arms crossed in front of his chest. He looked rather less threatening than the last time he had entered her room, although he wore the same black armor and cape. His strange eyebrows were high, though, his eyes wide and glittering. So had expected her to make a dash for her bathrobe, had he? She felt a smirk tug at her lips, trying her very hardest not to blush at all. 

“Or perhaps Sarah Williams has another need for a Goblin King..?” he said, voice distinctively lower, a seductive smile curving around his lips.  
She considered him carefully. Perhaps she wouldn’t need to go through any trouble to satiate her curiosity? But no, it was just the ballroom trick all over again, albeit a bit more adult. Seduction of this kind seemed second nature to the Goblin King and more likely than not it was as deceptive as the peach dream had been.  
“Really, Sarah. Lost your voice, after you called for me so… eloquently last night?”  
God, his voice was just as dark and tempting as ever, his words just as provoking.  
“Really, Goblin King,” she mimicked him, crossing her arms underneath her breasts, well aware of the attention that her posture drew to that particular part of her anatomy. “I was just surprised at your remarkably… uninspiring entrance.”  
His mismatched eyes darkened and he sauntered towards her, circling her so close that she could feel his cape flap against her ankles. She didn’t budge, trying very hard to not be distracted by his proximity to her mostly naked skin. There would be time enough for that later, she hoped. After she had tricked him.  
“Well then, what would you have of me, Sarah?” he asked, words short and clipped. “You asked for me. I came.”  
“You have been so generous up until now,” she muttered.  
He bared his teeth in a mockery of a smile. “But I can be cruel.” He stopped in front of her, too close for comfort, just close enough for her to catch a whiff of ozone and spice – a scent she recognized all too well from an encounter in a tunnel ten years ago, an encounter that had awoken her femininity more than a song and a dance had done.  
“Well?” he demanded again.  
Sarah raised her chin. “I want an answer, Goblin King,” she said clearly.  
He raised an eyebrow and gestured eloquently with his gloved hands.  
“What certain powers?” she asked.  
His eyes widened, and he threw his head back and laughed. “Now?” he asked when he was done, crossing his arms again. “You ask me this now? Why?” She could not discern if he was indignant or actually curious.  
She sniffed. “That is so not the point.”  
He smiled a slow, pointy smile. “And you haven’t found out yourself, yet?”  
Ouch, sore point. After she had gotten past her inner discussion about whether or not her adventure had been a dream (the outcome coinciding with the first appearance of goblins in her sock drawer), she had tried for a long time to figure out what certain powers the Goblin King could have given her. It had taken longer than she wanted to admit before she conceded that it hadn’t been conjuring crystals, or contact juggling for that matter. Neither had it been anything as interesting as shape shifting, reordering time or teleportation. She had her guesses, of course – it could be the fact that she could still call on her friends, it could be the goblins that followed her around wherever she went, or maybe simply the fact that something always happened to her. Maybe he hadn’t given anything to her at all; after all, the story from the book was not word for word the same as her own story. Simple fact was, she didn’t know, and she really wouldn’t mind figuring out the truth.  
“Obviously not,” she grudgingly admitted, glaring when his grin widened.  
“I gave you certain powers,” he said. “I’m not obliged to tell you which.”  
She narrowed her eyes. “What do you want for it?”  
He smiled again, a strange mixture of pleased and sardonic. “Sarah Williams, always so to the point.” He tapped his chin with a leather-clad finger, letting his gaze glide down her body. “What do I want for that..?” His eyes slowly slid back up to her face.  
She tried to suppress a shiver. Say: “You”, her inner voice cheered him on. “What would you trade for it?” she pressed him.  
He shook his head slowly, eyes still locked with hers. “That never works with you. No, I want …a rematch.”  
Inwardly Sarah did a victory dance, but outwardly she tried to remain as calm as possible. “You want to play me for my answer?” she said, just to make sure.  
“Run my maze again,” he suggested silkily. “If you reach the castle, I will give you your answer. If you lose, I get them back.”  
She snorted. “Ha, no way.” She cocked her head. “Let’s play a human game.”  
He raised an eyebrow again. “One of your primitive games?”  
She grinned. “Yes. I suggest we play ‘truth or dare’.”  
He smirked. “I rather think I can guess to the rules of that game.”  
“Same terms. Six truths or dares each, no reordering time during any part of the game and we’re not allowed to do each other harm,” she said shortly.  
He seemed to consider her just as carefully as she had him, which felt rather… was it distracting or disturbing? Considering the fact she was still almost naked. She did not dare move, though, waiting for him to take the bait. No doubt he was thinking of all the ways he could use this game against her. Of all the ways he could win. The game was too easy; victory too close in reach for him to be able to withstand the temptation, she thought. Hoped.  
“When have I won?” he asked.  
She snorted again. “You win if I fail to answer a truth or complete a dare. Same goes for you. I wouldn’t count on it though; I’m very good at this game.”  
He smiled again, baring his pointy teeth, and held out his hand for her to shake. “Piece of cake.”  
Hooked.


	3. Chapter 3

She grabbed his hand and shook it, taking a very small moment to relish in the feel of the leather on her skin. But that was about as long as she could stand her current state of undress, at least in present company. Seduction or no seduction, the way his mismatched eyes were fixed on her was more than unnerving. She didn’t truly feel she had come to the mostly naked part of the process yet.  
“You can wait here,” she said, as haughtily as she could manage, “I’m taking a shower first.” And before he could reply, she turned on her heel and all but fled to the bathroom.  
“Retreated, not fled,” she mumbled to herself when she had locked the door, “the first being a proper aspect of warfare, not the result of utter chickenness.” Then she considered the concept of fae hearing and the possibility that it was sharper than a human’s, and resolved to keep her inner monologue just that: _inner_. (A resolve that had never failed to fail up until now, but this was not the moment to start doubting any part of her self-discipline.)

 She might have hid in the bathroom a tad too long, frantically trying to decide what truth or dare she might ask of him first. Dive in immediately with a challenge, or test the waters first, see what he was up to? Truth or dare was a game that since high school always ended up more or less naughty (which was, obviously, the reason why she had chosen it), but there was a fair chance the Goblin King wouldn’t take it that way. She didn’t fancy having to run the Labyrinth again on a dare. Although, come to think of it, that _was_ an idea for a dare for Jareth, if he ended up being more of a bastard than she could handle.  
Great, now she had managed to frighten herself for both her own turn _and_ his. Why hadn’t she properly thought this through?  
She rolled her eyes at herself. Because she was _Sarah Williams_ , basically unchanged since 1986.

 Well, what’s done was done. No use worrying about spilled ink, she would have to play the game she’d chosen. At least she’d be properly dressed now; that is, until Jareth dared her to take it off again. But if _that_ were the case, it would probably mean she’d get what she wanted, so that couldn’t be so bad. Really, what was the worst that could happen?

oxoxo

She should by now have learned never even to think those last words.  
She had cleaned herself thoroughly, made sure she smelled nice and didn’t have excessive hair in places she found less than attractive, even put on some of her _nice_ underwear – just in case. Only to come back to her bedroom to realize Jareth wasn’t there. _Ladies and gentlemen, the Goblin King has left the building._ Only the glitter on the floor was prove that he had been there in the first place.  
“That man is starting to _piss_ me _off_ ,” she yelled at the ceiling, hoping fervently that the man in question was still listening in – then hoping fervently he wasn’t, because this wasn’t actually playing it cool. Although, granted, it _was_ better than “It’s not fair.” But only a little bit better.  
She sat down on her bed in a huff. Now what. She couldn’t very well follow him back to the Labyrinth. Not only would that be giving him exactly what he wanted, but also – teleportation? So not part of her certain powers. She supposed she could wish herself away to the goblins, but that would put her into his power again. No, she decided, this time they were going to play in _her_ kingdom. Jareth could glitterpoof up and down main street for all she cared, she was going to get on with the plan. So there.

This time she did manage to think before she acted. Slipping back into the bathroom again (why she did not know; it was rather likely that _if_ Jareth could look into her apartment from the Underground, the bathroom door wouldn’t exactly stop his gaze), she hurriedly slipped on her bikini underneath the summer dress she was wearing. She grabbed two towels from the bathroom cupboard, the book she was reading from her nightstand, and quickly left her building. Standing in the parking lot in front of her car, she threw a glance around her to make sure she was alone, and then clearly said: “Truth or dare, Goblin King?”  
“Dare,” said his low voice in her ear immediately, but this time she had expected it. She twirled around, trying to suppress a rather triumphant grin. “I dare you to come swimming with me.”  
The look on his face alone was practically worth it. Beaming, she opened the door to the passenger seat with an elaborate bow. “After you, sire.”  
He looked from the car to her with distaste. “You want me to get in that?”  
Frowning, Sarah peered in. Had she left chocolate wrappers all over the car again? No, it was clean, she’d vacuumed it last weekend. What was he on about now? “I know it’s old, but I’m sure it’s not as old as you,” she said rather bitingly.  
His eyes narrowed, but he made no move to get in.  
Oh wait, the steel. Interesting. Of course she had read numerous accounts claiming that the fae were at the least rather allergic to iron. It was the reason she was wearing jewelry of surgical steel – couldn’t hurt to be prepared, right? The goblins seemed pretty unaffected by the material, though, and she had rather expected their king to be the same. She bared her teeth in a grin. “Or are you scared? You could forfeit, you know.” Without further ado she threw the towels on the back seat, twirled to the other side of the car and plopped into the driver’s seat. “Easy win this way.”  
That earned her a flat out glare, but he elegantly slid into the passenger seat, making sure not to touch the frame. Humming to herself, she started to car and drove away, watching Jareth from the corner of her eyes. He looked decidedly uncomfortable, she thought. Oh, the people they were passing by on the streets probably wouldn’t notice, but that was only because they did not know how regally arrogant the Goblin King normally looked. He was holding himself very still, a look of concentration on his face. If she had to guess, she’d say he was doing something with his magic. Keeping it inside, maybe, or shielding himself. But then, what did she know about special powers? Nothing, nothing, tralala. However, she carefully filed her observations away in the part of her brain that was labeled “defeating opponents” (as well as “dealing with the fae” and “keeping the upper hand when it comes to the Goblin King”).  

The drive to the small lake where she liked to swim wasn’t too long, but by the end of it, the prolonged silence had made Sarah rather nervous. She didn’t quite know if the Goblin King was too focused on the iron cage around him to notice it, so she kept humming to herself, trying to make it sound as unconsciously nonchalant as possible. When he started to speak, his voice startled her so that she knew she blushed. Damn. So much for seductive sophistication.  
“Where are we going?”  
The good thing about driving was that he couldn’t distract her with the intense look in his eyes. She could focus all her attention on the smooth and dynamic tones of his voice. God, but did his words sound like a caress, or a soft kiss just behind her ear.  
“Sarah?” Questioning, but rather mockingly amused.  
Oh god, she’d forgotten to answer him. _Stop it, Sarah_ , she admonished herself. _It’s no use going through the trouble to play this game if you’re going to give yourself away within the first hour.  
_ Luckily they had almost reached the bend in the road from where you could see the lake, which made her silence seem a lot more deliberate. She nodded in the direction of the bright blue water that became visible through the trees. “We’re parking around the corner,” she said, and proceeded to do so.

Although it was quite warm already, it was still early enough for them to be almost alone at the water side. Sarah knew from experience that by noon, the water would be filled with squealing and laughing children, the grassy lakeside packed with parents trying to balance sunbathing and keeping an eye on their kids. It was the reason she usually went in the early mornings. Although she liked watching the children play, it was a lot easier to enjoy a good swim or disappear into a good book when it was a bit more quiet.

“And now… what?” Jareth asked, eyeing the lake. Sarah marveled at his ability to make even the most innocent comments sound suggestive.  
“Now we swim,” she said, and bounced off to her favorite spot on the water side, just on the left side of the biggest meadow. Here the water had created a small inlet that was partially hidden from view by some trees. She spread the towels out on the grass and plopped down on one of them, putting her book next to her on the ground, watching the Goblin King walk over in a slower pace. He looked as arrogant and unconcerned as ever, but she could see how carefully he observed his surroundings, from the almost cloudless sky to the grass beneath his feet. Remembering his intense gaze from before, she was suddenly rather nervous about dressing down to her bikini. Deciding that distance in this case might be a pre, she quickly kicked off her sandals, pulled her dress over her head and without looking back at Jareth, jumped into the water.  
The water was cool, but not as cold as earlier in the season. Despite that, she quickly stood up, shaking herself like a dog. “God, I keep forgetting how cold this is first thing in the morning,” she spluttered, grinning. Wiping her wet hair from her eyes, she noticed Jareth standing on the edge of the water, looking at her, his eyes glittering brightly.  
“Coming?” she called, more daring than she felt.  
“I’m afraid I don’t own such a delightful little outfit for swimming as you do, Sarah,” he said, a strange half smile on his face.  
She blinked once and collapsed into giggles, the visual of the Goblin King in a bikini too much for her. “Oh god, it would probably be a glitter bikini,” she moaned half out loud, the mental image of which brought her near to tears. Finally she stood up straight again, wiping her eyes, and tried to suppress the giggles that still bubbled up. The look on Jareth’s face, half surprise, half disapproval, almost sent her off again. His face was so much more expressive than she remembered. She stopped mid-giggle, though, blood rushing to her face, when Jareth started to undress himself with calm, confident movements. She felt herself torn between a variation on the fight or flight response: feast her eyes on the inches of pale flesh appearing before her, or hide her embarrassment about her obvious excitement by disappearing under water. In the end she did neither. Her gaze was locked on his mismatched eyes, the intensity of his look rendering her unable to move. She could not look away from his gaze, but even so, it was quite obvious that the Goblin King was in possession of a rather spectacular body. He was long and lean, all slender muscles and pale, angular expanses of skin. Also, he was definitely _not_ wearing anything underneath those –  
She sank down into the water, furiously blushing, and tried to hide her embarrassment by half floating, half paddling to the deeper part of the lake. Backwards, of course, because there was no way in hell she was going to miss any part of this –  
Oh god, and now he smirked way too knowingly at her. She squeaked and turned over, swimming with long, strong strokes out into the open lake. _Be cool, be cool, be cool, be oh god he_ knows _doesn’t he_ , she thought frantically, trying very hard to appear as relaxed and uninterested as possible. _Though point for me, I do know now that he has matching boy parts._ She swallowed. _Well,_ man _parts._

She was pretty much in the middle of the lake when she felt a hand close around her ankle. Screaming a very undignified (though rather feminine) scream, she twirled around, trying not to choke on a gulp of water in the process. Being grasped when she was swimming scared her in a very primal way, her first thought always being grabbed by, y’know, a shark, a giant octopus, Nessie – anything that after her adventure in the Labyrinth suddenly didn’t seem so very unreasonable anymore.  
She was so not cool right now.  
The Goblin King was right behind her, an infuriating grin on his face. He seemed to almost float in the water, while she was treading water just a bit too frantically. Involuntarily, her gaze slid downwards. Luckily, the water was too murky to see anything.  
“I think this concludes my first dare,” Jareth drawled. “I truly didn’t think you were going to make it this easy for me.”  
She narrowed her eyes. “I thought I’d start you off with a simple challenge,” she said. “Didn’t want to scare you, you know.”  
He bared his pointy teeth in a manner that seemed more threatening than amused, clearly not believing anything she said. “Really, Sarah? Testing me? Whatever for?”  
_Be cool, Sarah._ “Oh, you’ll _know_ when I’m testing you,” she snapped, annoyed.  
God, could anybody shut down the connection between her brain and her mouth? He smirked again and she kicked out her legs, starting to swim away, but for the second time his hand was on her, this time on her wrist. No gloves, was the only thing she could think for a moment, his fingers unexpectedly hot on her skin in the cool water. “Truth or dare, Sarah Williams,” was all he said.  
Well, wasn’t she just doomed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reviews are a very good way of guilt tripping me into updating faster!


	4. Chapter 4

Feeling as if she stepped of a ledge, Sarah answered him: “Dare.”  
He smirked, letting go of her wrist. “I dare you to show me a memory of a time you lost this ‘truth or dare’ game.”  
Her eyes widened and she barely caught herself before blurting out: “That’s not fair!” From the infuriating grin on Jareth’s face, she gathered that he fully expected her to revert to her teenage self. Steeling herself, she settled for glaring at him. So he found a way to extricate answers from her even if she stuck to dares the whole game long. Good for him. She should probably be glad he hadn’t thought of asking her to explain her motives more fully.  
“How do you propose I manage that? I didn’t take any pictures that day,” she said, icily.  
If possible his grin got wider. He lifted both his hands out of the water, water dripping down his long, pale fingers. Despite her frustration – or maybe because of it – she found it hard to tear her gaze away from them. No gloves. He moved a hand to her temple, and she jerked back before he could touch her. “Nuhuh. No way, Goblin King,” she said, kicking her legs out with a bit more force than necessary.  
“Afraid of me, Sarah?” he taunted, smirk still firmly in place.  
“Afraid of you messing around in my head with fairy magic, yes,” she said.  
He laughed out loud. “I won’t be ‘messing around’, as you so eloquently put it,” he said. He twirled his hand and a crystal appeared.  
She narrowed her eyes. “You have no power over me.”  
“Quite right,” he said, seemingly unperturbed. “I can only see what you show me.” He leaned towards her, still seemingly floating in the water, and she willed herself not to jerk back again. She could feel the heat radiating from his upper body. “So show me.”

She bit her lip, thinking hard. As she’d boasted to him, she was good at truth or dare. She was honest and open by nature, which meant she usually had no problems answering truths, and she was bold enough to accept any challenge thrown her way. Nobody could win every game, though, and she hadn’t always been comfortable with the aforementioned naughtiness that often went hand in hand with truth or dare, because there were people in this world with whom you just didn’t want to be naughty. However, it might get Jareth thinking in the right direction if she showed him such a case, and she could hardly think of a situation in which a naughty dare by _him_ would be unwelcome.

“How do we go about this?” she asked, looking at the crystal warily.  
He smirked. “It’s a crystal, nothing more. But if you touch it this way…” He demonstrated touching the crystal with the index finger from his other hand, “…and think of what you want me to see, it will show me your memory.”  
Sarah raised her eyebrows, still rather unbelieving, but what the hell. It wasn’t as bad a dare as she’d expected, and he probably wouldn’t get any ideas of impossible dares from the situation she planned on showing him. “Very well,” she said out loud, and confidently put her index finger on the crystal.

Turns out Jareth hadn’t exactly given her a clear explanation of what was about to happen, though his words technically had been correct. She had thought she would simply recall the situation in detail and Jareth would somehow telepathically be able to see the whole thing in his mind. Instead, however, it seemed like the crystal sucked her in. It was too quick to scream, and then she was _back_ in the memory, reliving it, but with her present conscience in the back of her mind, and a shadow that looked remarkably like the Goblin King in the background. _Should have remembered that dreams are his prerogative, not mind reading_ , she thought drily, before the memory swallowed her whole.

 ***

She was sitting on a picnic blanket in a garden on a hot summer night, pleasantly inebriated and feeling pretty much on top of the world. They were just a small group that had separated from the frat party, which concentrated around the pool. Her and two girls, both of them friends of hers, and four guys that they knew from class and were on the verge of getting to know better (in the literal, not in the biblical sense of the word). One of them was Tom, a nice guy from her latest literature class, on whom she had a little bit of a crush. He was just her type – intelligent but mischievous, with a playfulness that belied his dark eyebrows and good grades.

“Let’s play ‘I’ve never’,” had Kim said. The guys had heartily applauded that idea, but Sarah didn’t feel much like a drinking game.  
“Nah, let’s play truth or dare,” she lazily suggested, and they had complied.

The game was on by now, and they had quickly progressed to the more naughty truths and dares, partly thanks to the bottles of wine that they had snagged from the party before heading off on the grass. She was enjoying herself a lot, laughing often both at her own and at her friends’ expense, and stealing none too subtle looks at Tom, who seemed to be reciprocating. She had kicked off her shoes earlier, when they’d sat by the pool, so she could cool her feet off in the water. She had no idea where her shoes were now, she thought vaguely, but then again, she didn’t care much.

“Your turn, Sarah,” Tom said, poking at the sole of her foot.  
She eeped and pulled the appendage away from him. “I know, I know,” she said, “just thinking of a dare.” Her eyes locked on him and she smirked.  
His eyebrows raised and he held up his hands. “That doesn’t promise much good for me, does it?” he said.  
“Nope,” said Lana, her other friend, drily.  
Tom Kenny,” Sarah said, standing up on the blanket, giggling when the background swayed just a little bit, “I dare you to kiss my feet and call me your queen.”  
His eyes widened. Hmm. On second thought, maybe not such a good idea. She could hardly take it back, now, though, and she raised her foot expectantly, trying to look as regal as possible while standing on one leg, pleasantly inebriated.  
He eyed her foot warily.  
“It’s pretty clean,” she mumbled, a little less regally. She felt the eyes of the others on her, but she tried to ignore them. This had suddenly turned a bit more embarrassing than she’d planned.  
He grinned suddenly and took her foot in his hand, pressing a quick kiss to the instep, and said: “You have lovely feet, my queen.” He then proceeded to tickle the hell out of her foot, and she fell over on the blanket, laughing so hard she almost cried, trying to pull her foot from his hands. “No, please, no, no, stop it Tom, _please_ ,” she begged him, and when he finally relented, she glared at him and cursed him breathlessly.  
He laughed. “Serves you right!”  
“Well, now we got that out of the way, it’s your turn,” said one of the other guys, Luke. He was in her literature class as well, she remembered, though he’d never made much of an impression on her.  
“You’re right,” Tom said. “Truth or dare, Sarah?”  
Kim groaned. “Your flirting is getting in the way of the game, guys. We’re also playing, remember?”  
“Just the once,” Tom said, not taking his eyes from Sarah.  
She stared back at him, her heart hammering in her chest. Was Kim right? Was this full out flirting? She certainly wouldn’t mind something happening between her and Tom, but she still wasn’t sure what he thought of her.  
“Dare,” she said, lifting her chin in the air.  
“Sarah Williams, I dare you to…” he leaned forward, and she held her breath in anticipation. “Kiss…” She bit the inside of her cheek, not taking her eyes from his. “…Luke.”  
What? Her gaze swung to Luke, while the others laughed out loud at her surprise. He was looking at her with wide blue eyes, apparently not sure what to think either. She glanced at his lips, considering for a moment, but really, there was just no way she was ever going to touch him like that. It wasn’t that he was ugly, per se, he was just – somewhat like a big teddy bear, slow and bulky and utterly boring, and she loved winning, but really, she didn’t love winning this much.

“Sorry, Tom, I forfeit,” she said, with a sheepish grin at Luke, hoping he wouldn’t take it too badly. “I don’t kiss random guys, not even on a dare.”  
“You know what that means,” said Tom, a broad grin on his face.  
Kim lifted a – thank god – mostly finished bottle of wine to the sky. “Bottoms up,” she cried. Sarah grabbed the bottle from her hand, raised it in salute, called “Ad fundum!” and downed the remains of the wine in one swallow.

***

 With a swoosh that turned into a shake of her head, she was back in the lake. She wasn’t treading water. Jareth was holding her up, hands on her waist. Holy fuck his skin was hot and he was entirely too close. The sudden switch from her relived attraction to Tom (whom she did manage to kiss by the end of the night, by the way, but then he wasn’t a random guy) to Jareth’s intoxicating proximity was a bit much, and she floundered back out of his hands, eyes wide. “Wow,” she said breathlessly, not sure if she meant the memory magic or being so close to the Goblin King.  
Jareth said nothing, infernal smirk for once gone. He was looking at her speculatively. She wondered if he had seen anything useful. Knowing him – but really, she didn’t – he probably had. She was however unwilling to relive the memory again to try and figure out if she made any fatal mistakes in showing him this particular event. Too shaken to ask him for a truth or dare immediately, she turned around and swam back to the shore, not checking to see if he came along. Back on land she laid down on her stomach on the biggest bathing towel and waited, content for a while to let herself dry up in the early morning sunrays.  
“So this Tom Kenny,” came his voice eventually from the side. She didn’t dare move her head, too afraid to catch an appreciated but right now unwelcome eyeful again, so she just made an affirmative sound and stared on in the distance, leaning her chin on her hands. “He won the game?”  
“Actually, no,” Sarah said. “I think Kim won, in the end. Although…” she paused, wondering if she gave away too much, but then continued: “It was one of those games that wasn’t so much about winning as it was about playing.” She could hear clothes rustling and she dared to sneak a glance at him. He was dressed again, wearing a more simple outfit than before. No armor, she realized when she considered him thoughtfully.  
“Hm,” he said. “And you didn’t dare show me a game that was about winning.”  
It was more of a statement than a question. She narrowed her eyes and rolled on her side, well aware of the way this pose highlighted her curves. “I would have,” she said coolly. “But you asked to see a game I lost.”  
He regarded her intensely, her implication obviously not lost on him. She stared him down, not in the least bit nervous about his look _now_. This, she knew. Defiance in the face of a challenge. Finally he smirked, and she felt a smile tug at her own mouth. But before she could grin back at him, he disappeared.  
She sighed and rolled on her back, closing her eyes. Good, some time to consider her next move.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is unbetaed, so constructive criticism is very much appreciated. As is non-constructive swooning at sexy Goblin Kings, by the way.


	5. Chapter 5

It was, Sarah reflected, not that easy to think of a realistic dare that Jareth nonetheless would definitely win _and_ that would allow her to spend time with him. And that was assuming Jareth wouldn’t go for truth, in which case she _really_ didn’t know how to draw a single question out to an actual conversation with an uncooperative Goblin King. However, she didn’t think he would actually go for truth; Jareth seemed much to secretive to be forced to answer impertinent questions truthfully. Besides, if he suspected anything about her real reasons for playing, he would know she didn’t want him to lose immediately and thus her dares wouldn’t be too difficult, which meant he could safely choose dare.

More careful planning, then – or at least, as careful as Sarah Williams, improviseur extraordinaire, could ever manage. When she came home, she quickly changed her summer dress for cargo shorts and a tank top with a flower print. She tied her long hair back, this time more successfully, and went to her kitchen. Opening her fridge she peered in and nonchalantly asked: “Truth or dare, Goblin King?”

“Dare,” came his voice again from behind her. She took out the leftover pasta from last night and a bottle of milk, and turned around.

Jareth was sitting – no, _lounging_ on her kitchen chair, leaning precariously on the back legs of the chair while his feet were propped up on the table. He was toying with a crystal, contact juggling it from one hand to the other. When she turned around, he made it disappear in a small cloud of glitter and smiled insolently.

She put the pasta on the table and unceremoniously pushed off his feet. Annoyingly, the chair remained in exactly the same position, though the swing of his legs should have taken him off balance. Sarah sniffed; she had rather wished he’d fall over, but that was probably too much to hope for with a king who owned a gravity defying room.

“I dare you to beat me at laser tag,” she said matter-of-factly and turned to her kitchen cabinet. “Do you want to join me?” she asked over her shoulder.

“Excuse me?” said Jareth.

She nodded at the pasta. “I want to eat something first.”

He eyed the leftovers. “Is this to do with laser tag?”

She chuckled and took out two plates plus corresponding cutlery. “This is to do with lunch. I want to eat first, I’m starving.” She laid out the table for them both. “Would you like some milk? I’d offer tea, but unfortunately I’m fresh out.”

He looked at her, and she laughed. “I promise I haven’t enchanted it.”

He raised an eyebrow.

She sighed. “Here, do you want to taste first? I have no idea what you usually eat, but I’m not a bad cook.” She put some pasta on his plate and shoved it towards him. “It’s cold, but I actually like it better that way.” Deciding she didn’t want to wait any longer, she plopped down on another chair, put a decent sized portion on her own plate and dug in.

For a little while, Jareth watched her eat. It made her pretty self-conscious, but she tried her best to ignore it. She poured herself a glass of milk, and on second thought poured him one as well. He took the glass, and after a moment’s consideration, he twirled his hand and a crystal appeared. He rapped the crystal sharply against the edge of the glass, like an egg, and it broke neatly in half. From it poured a thick, golden fluid – egg yolk? No, honey, she decided when she smelled the sweetness from the other side of the table. He then lifted the glass in his hand, and while he looked at it, it started to steam.

 _Awesome_ , said her inner self. “If you wanted hot milk with honey, I could’ve made it for you,” she said out loud.

He looked at her, one eyebrow raised again, lifted the glass to his lips and drank. Her mouth fell open a little. Was it possible to drink sexily? Evidence suggested a wholehearted yes. His head was tilted backwards as he swallowed and the pose showed off the lean, strong muscles of his neck and chest extraordinarily well. With a blink and a headshake, she focused on her pasta again.

“So tell me, Sarah. Are you often in the habit of offering meals to your …antagonists?” he asked, and elegantly took a bite of said meal.

Sarah chuckled. “Surprisingly enough, I don’t have that many antagonists.”

Jareth smirked. “That _is_ surprising. Not even your stepmother?”

Sarah shrugged her shoulders. “Nah.”

“…what happened?”

“I grew up, Goblin King. Moved out, too. Makes a hell of a lot of difference,” she explained, while finishing the last of her lunch. “I can see now that she makes my father happy, that she’s a good mom to Toby – hell, she’s a good mom to _me_. Calls me every week, tries to clean my apartment the minute she walks through that door, gives unwanted relationship advice, takes me shopping and buys me dresses…” Aware that she was babbling, she gestured to his plate. “Do you want some more?”

“No, thank you, Sarah,” he said, his eyes strangely bright.

“Your loss,” she quipped, and dragged the dish with the last bits of pasta towards her. Finishing the leftovers quickly, she emptied her glass, pushed her chair back and stood up to put the dishes in the sink. Jareth kept on watching her, which really wasn’t what she had in mind. She wanted to watch _him_ , that was the whole point of this set up. Washing her hands quickly, she turned around and hopped onto the counter.

“What about you?” she asked.

He smirked again. “I _am_  in the habit of offering food to my antagonists, as you well know.”

She flushed a little, the ballroom dream still so clear in her mind’s eye. She didn’t know what embarrassed her more, though – the fact that it was such a _pubescent_ dream, the fact that he’d been there to witness it, or the fact that she couldn’t properly get angry over his manipulations because she was still a hormonal piece of work and his proximity influenced her too much.

“I meant the antagonists,” she said with an annoyed wave of her hand.

“Like you, I do not have as many as I did once,” he said. She couldn’t read the expression on his face, so she opted for admiring its sharp, clean lines and flawless skin. God, he was pretty.

“No runners?” she asked, although she knew full well her friends would have told her if there had been.

He deigned her no reply, but instead stood up with a flourish and held out his hand to her in a half-bow. “Shall we go  to this laser tag?”

She eyed him thoughtfully. “Are you sure you’re clothed right for an adventure aboveground?”

He lifted an eyebrow. “Why, Sarah, thinking about my clothes again?”

She fought down the blush caused by innumerable daydreams about his clothes, or more specifically what lay under them. “Wouldn’t want you to attract unnecessary attention,” she said, as airily as she could manage.

He smirked. “Am I to gather you do not like other… _people’s_ … attention on me?”

God, his low, rumbling voice was positively sinful. “I do, as long as their attention comes in the form of a hammer,” she sniffed. “Or possibly a riding crop.”

Shit, Sarah, wrong choice of words again. His grin turned wolfish – in the literal sense. His canines were pointed and sharp, and longer than a human’s. She swallowed. That probably shouldn’t turn her on as much as it did.

“Sarah, Sarah, Sarah,” he singsonged. “It does appear as if you’ve given my attire a lot of thought, these past years.”

Denial wasn’t going to help her here anymore. The only possible safe way out would be exaggeration. “Well, yeah,” she snorted. “What with you looking like the bastard love child of a medieval knight and a rock star, prancing around me at a very impressionable age, it’s a miracle I haven’t made _more_ fashion mistakes as a teen. I’ve certainly overdone my share of leggings, and I’m not even going to get into the leather thing.”

He stepped closer to her. “What leather thing?” he asked, his dark voice curling around her, his eyes amused.

“Let’s go play laser tag,” Sarah said quickly and hopped off the counter, grabbed her keys and headed out the door, followed by his mocking laugh.  

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the wait! As said, my laptop broke down and writing has been a problem ever since. Managed to recover my files, but typing on our old computer is just freakin' annoying - it keeps stalling and getting stuck. Also, as you can see, the editing is slightly different in this word processing programme. Anyway, I did manage to write a new chapter eventually, so I hope this appeases you a little ;)

**Author's Note:**

> Me no ownie.
> 
> Started this story a couple of years ago and because I managed to get my writing juices flowing again after a dry spell due to work, I decided it was time to start posting it on AO3. Hope you enjoy. Unbetaed, so please let me know any and all mistakes you find :)


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